Sunday, August 16, 2015

Waukesha's application for a Lake Michigan diversion calls for average daily water importing greater than what the city uses and also calls for making some of the diverted water available to a service territory expanded by 80% into some undeveloped acreage and several neighboring communities that did not apply for diversions on their own.At huge costs, too.I have called that planned beyond-its-boundaries distribution by Waukesha the application's weakest link - - and look who is advising its members not to go to upcoming hearings next week and talk about water for growth, business and land development expansion: the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors.Look to the advice at end of the group's pre-hearing "Call to Action," and also don't miss for further ironies the letter in support of the application signed by eight elected GOP politicians which criticizes opponents alleged to have "political" agendas.

The DNR has concluded that accessingLake Michiganwater is the only reasonable alternative forWaukesha, however, opponents are waging a well-funded and well-organized campaign to stop it.

The first hearing isMonday, August 17, 2015, beginning with a DNR presentation at5:30 pm, then public testimony at6:30 pm. The hearing will be held at theCarroll University Centerfor Graduate Studies Auditorium (LL14). Please note that this isnotat the main campus. The address is2140 Davidson Road,Waukesha.

There will be two hearings onTuesday, August 18th, one in Milwaukee (1:00 pm presentation, 2:00 pm hearing at the UWM Zilber School of Public Health, 1240 N. 10th Street, Milwaukee) and another in Racine (5:30 pm presentation, 6:30 pm hearing at the Racine Masonic Center, 1012 Main Street, Racine).

We encourage you to provide spoken testimony at one or more of the hearings in support of the DNR's conclusions andWaukeshareceivingLake Michiganwater.

Testimony will likely be limited tothree minutes(about 400 words). You should use your own words to express your opinions and feelings about the water application, and how it will affect the city and its residents and businesses. It is important to show that this proposal affects real people and businesses. Try to refrain from comments that relate to more water for growth or expansion of businesses or land development. That is not the objective of the application.Click here for some talking points.

9 comments:

Max B.
said...

The realtor membership wasn't consulted regarding this latest political manipulation by the leadership.

Realtors are interested in one thing, and one thing only: more commissions.

You'd hope this time they'd use that self-interest to realize that prospective buyers with alternatives are NOT going to chose to buy in Waukesha, what with water rates going to $900/year for an average family, tens of thousands of dollars in hook-up costs if they're buying into the expanded service area, and an uncertain water future that relies on 3 other communities for its source and return flow. Oh yeah, and a water utility drunk with power.

In fact, Waukesha’s application is all about sustainability – switching to a water supply that can be recycled back to the source, instead of causing damage to 700 to 2,300 acres of wetlands, as well as streams, lakes and aquifer. That’s the DNR says the plan by opponents would cause, even if water use was dramatically reduced below forecasts.

Population growth in the service area is projected at 0.5% until build-out. Only 15% of the land in the area is available for development. In the city, any development is essentially in-fill. The area outside of the city is also largely developed, but on wells and septic. Only 0.2% of that area is undeveloped commercial land and only 0.5% is undeveloped industrial land. So no, development is not the purpose of the application for a healthy, sustainable water supply.

Apparently that tiny amount of potential development is what has you all worked up. Not damage to a huge amount of wetlands. Not cutting off groundwater to streams and lakes.

The Journal Sentinel actually drove around the area to check on your typical sprawl claim. See http://bit.ly/1RClxfB

Bill McClenahan would do us a favor by proudly declaring that he's just an ordinary guy speaking up in the interests of ordinary Waukesha residents. But, that would require our ignoring the fact that he's been getting a fat check every month--for years-- to keep on toiling as the flack for the real estate interests and The Waukesha Water Utility Commissioners who are pushing this insane diversion scheme.

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What water, wetland protection is all about

"A little fill here and there may seem to be nothing to become excited about. But one fill, though comparatively inconsequential, may lead to another, and another, and before long a great body may be eaten away until it may no longer exist. Our navigable waters are a precious natural heritage, once gone, they disappear forever," wrote the Wisconsin Supreme Court in its 1960 opinion resolving Hixon v. PSC and buttressing The Public Trust Doctrine, Article IX of the Wisconsin State Constitution.

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James Rowen, a writer and consultant, has worked for newspapers, and as the senior Mayoral staffer, in Madison and Milwaukee, WI. This blog began on 2/2/ 2007. Posts run also at various news sites, including The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's "Purple Wisconsin."